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2022 Curryville, Missouri-Auburn-Tuscola, Illinois-Newport, Indiana tornado
|type = EF5 tornado (NWS)|image location = F5 Tornado (1).jpg|image caption = A image of the tornado moving northeast taken near Auburn, Illinois. This was shortly before peak intensity.|date = May 26, 2022|times = 1755-2158|touchdown = 2 S of Curryville, MO|winds = 284 mph (recorded) 290 mph (estimate)|injuries = 908 injured|fatalities = 237 dead, 98 missing|damage = $1 billion (2022 USD)|areas = Areas between Curryville, Misouri and Newport, Indiana.|tornado season = Tornadoes of 2022 and the Tornado outbreak of May 25-27, 2022}}the 2022 Curryville-Auburn-Tuscola-Newport tornado '''was a devastating, extremely long-tracked and violent EF5 tornado that tracked across parts of Missouri, Illinois and Indiana on May 26, 2022. This tornado is known as one of the longest tracked on record, tracking a incredible 213 miles from just south of Curryville, Missouri to northeast of Newport, Indiana. Meteorological history On the morning of May 26, 2022, a moist and hot atmosphere existed, high wind shear also existed, nearing 6,000 J/kg. This warranted the SPC to issue a high risk of severe thunderstorms along a corridor from Joplin, Missouri to Des Moines, Iowa to Fort Wayne, Indiana. All it would take was a initiating trigger, which occurred around 14Z, when the upper-level trough moved slightly, triggering dozens of discrete supercells across southwestern Missouri. Shortly later, a special SPC outlook was issued, upgrading the risk level for tornadoes from 30% to 45%, above minimum high risk criteria. Shortly later, the first severe thunderstorm warnings went out across northeastern Oklahoma, northern Arkansas and southwestern Missouri, and a PDS tornado watch was issued for large parts of the region at 1455. This watch had a >95% chance of all hazards, only the fourth one on record. The first tornado warning of the day was issued at 1502, following reports of a funnel cloud near Joplin, Missouri. This briefly touched down, causing EF1 damage. With extreme instability in place, the SPC upgraded the tornado risk level once again to 60%, the maximum level issued by the SPC. This is only the third example of a 60% tornado risk, alongside April 7, 2006 and April 13, 2018. A tornado warning was issued for portions of Ralls, Pike and Audrain counties in Missouri at 1739 on a long-lived supercell that had previously produced a EF3 tornado near Jefferson City. This was in the 60% area, and "incredible" instability existed, and with no other supercells initiating in the region until much later, this supercell could take advantage of the incredible amounts of instability. Touchdown and Missouri - At 1755, a funnel cloud touched down just south of Curryville, Missouri. The funnel cloud reportedly struggled to keep it's condensation funnel together, and at 1756 struck a garage, causing EF1 damage to the garage and surrounding structures. The tornado proceeded into wooded areas, barely missing a shed at low-end EF1 intensity. The tornado proceeded into a field at high-end EF1 intensity by 1758, before causing EF1 damage to a farm at 1759, and causing EF2 damage to crops in the area. The tornado proceeded to clip another house at 1800, causing EF2 damage to the main structure, and high-end EF2 damage to some crops. Not only that, but around the same time, the cap broke, allowing the matured thunderstorms to explosively intensify. This tornado rapidly intensified into a high-end EF3 shortly later, and warranted a PDS tornado warning for the town of Bowling Green. The tornado remained far away from roads, and over fields for over 5 minutes at this point in life. Finally, at 1807, a house was clipped by the center of the tornado, sustaining minimal EF4 damage, the first death of the tornado occurred here. It crossed Irvine Branch at 1808 as a large wedge tornado, before destroying a well-built home at 1809, causing mid-range EF4 damage there. Shortly later, another barnhouse was struck, sustaining high-end EF4 damage. A small debris ball was evident on radar by this point, warranting a tornado emergency for Bowling Green, despite it's rather small size. It would travel for a another few minutes over cornfields, causing EF2 damage to a house far outside of it's core at 1813. People in Bowling Green described that the tornado was so large at this point that it simply looked like a large, dark area of fog was approaching. The tornado moved into Bowling Green at 1816 as a very high-end EF4 tornado, causing the first solid evidence of EF5 intensity at 1817 to a Casey's Gas Station, where 2 employees died. Here, the gas station structure, which was bolted to the ground, was swept completely from the foundation, suggesting winds of 205 mph, making it a low-end EF5 tornado at this point. It struck a tractor shop at 1819, causing damage indicative of winds of 210 mph and throwing tractors as far as a mile. The engine of a tractor was found 4 miles away in a cornfield. It then struck a well-built store at 1810, causing damage indicative of winds of 195 mph, or high-end EF4, with the structure largely being swept away. 20 people died here, marking the highest death toll of the tornado. The tornado proceeded to strike a Subway restaurant at 1811, sweeping it away from it's foundation and killing 4. Damage here was rated EF5 with winds of 220 mph. The Subway sign frame was found snapped in half roughly 5 miles away, while a outfit for the restaurant was found 14 miles away. It proceeded into wooded areas, uprooting hundreds of trees, it ultimately weakened below EF5 intensity at 1817 as it crossed Bowling Green Reservoir, destroying a ferry boat, causing mid-range EF4 damage to it. It struck a small neighborhood of well-built houses at 1818, causing mostly high-end EF3 to low-end EF4 damage. 5 people were killed here. The tornado once again proceeded into wooded areas at 1820, re-intensifying into a EF5 tornado in the process. The tornado once again hit a small group of houses at 1824, causing EF5 damage to several houses. It then hit a shed at 1826, causing EF4 damage to it, before striking another house at 1827, sweeping it from it's foundation and causing EF5 damage, killing 3 people. Several other houses sustained EF3-EF4 damage over rural eastern Missouri from this tornado. It wouldn't cause EF5 damage again, despite holding on to that intensity, until 1830, when a house and trailer were completely swept away. The damage to the trailer was rated EF3, while the damage to the house was rated EF5. It neared Goose Creek at 1834, causing EF5 damage to several buildings just west of the creek, weakening slightly at 1835 to a high-end EF4. The outer edges of the tornado struck a well-built, two-story home at 1838, causing EF1 damage, before throwing a car that was traveling along County Road 121 nearly 2 miles, killing 2 people. A greenhouse was struck at 1841, sustaining low-end EF5 damage, with several steel frames containing the main part of the greenhouse found to have been bent several feet away from their original position. The tornado stayed over fields, causing severe ground scouring up to 3 feet deep in spots, suggesting possible EF5 intensity here as well, and crossed through wooded areas. It wouldn't emerge from the wooded areas until 1850, and a mistake here resulted in damage to bare slab being rated EF5, however later on it was confirmed that the slab had no house on it previously. The tornado struck several houses in this area, causing EF4-EF5 damage to all of them. The tornado finally crossed the Mississippi River into Illinois at 1853, after 58 minutes on the ground in Missouri, and 34 deaths. However, just barely on the Missouri side, the tornado destroyed Lock and Dam No. 24, a 82 year old dam, causing catastrophic flooding downstream. Illinois - '''THIS IS A WORK-IN PROGRESS!